CoveredCA previously released enrollment numbers in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) health insurance exchanges here. According to their reports, almost 1.4 million (1,395,929) Californians enrolled in insurance plans sold on the exchange through April 15th, 2014, with Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego County taking the top 3 spots in total number of enrollments (see table below). CoveredCA beat their projections of enrolling at least 400,000 – 700,000 individuals (according to a Sept 2013 document) by triple digit percents, already reaching levels forecast for 2015-2016.

Almost 122 million Americans visited the polls on November 6th to cast their votes in arguably one of the most controversial election cycles in decades. After three days of early ballots and a full day of voting, President Barrack Obama was re-elected and offered a second term as President of the United States of America, winning 332 of the 538 Electoral College votes. Voting behavior has been historically (and consistently) associated with values and attitudes related to beliefs, views on race, and even church attendance and reading a newspaper. Yet, in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act (popularly known as Obamacare), the outcome of the 2012 elections weighed heavily on voter’s decision to keep or repeal it. Provisions included in the ACA are designed to increase access to preventive health services, giving access to health insurance to over 50 million uninsured Americans. Continue reading…

On June 29th, 2012, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) largely upheld the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA, aka Obamacare), deeming it’s individual mandate as constitutional when viewed as a tax. While constitutional, the polarized nature of today’s political and news systems have made this act the “topic of the day” for weeks now. Today’s panel discussion hosted by George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services sought to expand the discussion to understand the public health implications that the Affordable Care Act has on the public health community, for practitioners and consumers alike. Continue reading…